pumps

yeah, well.

yesterday i was going to tell you about the pump track, but then there was the story of being on my back and flailing like a beetle, which seemed more amusing.

i've mentioned the pump track before or at least i have wanted to mention it.

it's a bumpy oval track, berms on the corners. the bumps are wavy and the track is smooth. the idea behind it is that you go in and you don't pedal if you can avoid it. you use your body weight and your arms to push and pull the bike and if you're very good at it and very strong you can not just keep your momentum but actually gain speed.

if you are a very fit person you can go around and around and around.

i am neither very fit nor very good at it, but i can get around it twice most days and three times on a good day before i have to rest.

in other news involving pumps, my rear shock still does not hold air like i need it to. and i was having something weird happen and it was hard to get air into it and i was wondering what was going on so i let the air right out of it, just to see how it pumped up from nothing.

i did pretty well up to 100 psi, but then the going got slow. and i had already done a lot of pumping, so the next 80 pounds went in hard. and now my hands and arms are sore. it's nothing that won't sort itself out with a good night's sleep, but i am tired. that good night's sleep is goign to start an hour or two ahead of the usuals.